Tag: marriedbyannemarie.com

It was happiness for me to share in Bill and Katy’s sweet, intimate and private wedding ceremony at a Seattle park! We found a huge and beautiful tree and with a few logistics to find best lighting, we shared in a romantic and beautiful ceremony, with personalized vows.Joined by their photographer and another witness, we all felt honored to be a part of Bill and Katy’s big day ~ a celebration of their years together and a lifetime moment that held great anticipation for the years ahead!
Photo: www.sarahpotterphotography.com

Congratulations! You want to get married and you are planning to elope to Washington State. As a Wedding Officiant and Minister in the Seattle/Tacoma area, let me give you some guidance on creating and planning your elopement – whether your guest list is for two or twenty!

1) Secure a valid Marriage License in Washington State. Contact the County Auditor in any County in Washington State. Your marriage license is valid for 60 days and there is a 3-day waiting period. You must present your marriage license to your Officiant or Minister before your ceremony.

2) Find an Officiant. There are many Officiants to select from, depending on your background and traditions and what you want/desire for your wedding ceremony. Of course, I hope you’ll consider me!

3) Decide on a Location. There are many sweet places to be married in the Seattle/Tacoma area. Favorites of mine include Alki Beach, Magnolia Bluff, Palisade Restaurant, Salty’s on Alki, top of The Space Needle, to name a few. If being married at the foot of Mt. Rainier interests you, check out Alexander’s Country Inn. And if you’re in a mood for a ferry ride, getting married on Bainbridge Island, Vashon Island, Orcas Island or Whidbey Island is very fun.

4) Select A Date and Make Arrangements. Once you have a date, you can secure your “location” and Officiant. You will need two witnesses over the age of 18 if you don’t have anyone else with you. If you don’t have witnesses, most Officiants can assist with finding you a couple of people – really!

5) Enjoy! A wedding is a big life moment and a huge life transition. Mark the moment with love, appreciation and respect. Eloping takes the stress out of any wedding planning and is all about the two of you – your love story, your commitment.

Annemarie Juhlian is a Seattle/Tacoma based Non-Denominational Wedding Officiant & Minister. She can be reached at: http://www.marriedbyannemarie.com or 425.922.1325

And here you are, loving each other, and with the enormous intention and challenge to be married, to get married, during Covid 19.

So, here’s the deal on how to do this, short and sweet, for you, in Washington State.

I am writing this UPDATE POST on May 14th, and we’re in the middle of Phase 1.

As a State, we need to get to Phase 2 in order to have a gathering of 5 people or less, which allows for a small and intimate wedding ceremony, with social distancing measures. At least, this is what I am interpreting, with others in our wedding community, from the Governor’s Covid 19 directives.

In a perfect world, Phase 2 will commence on June 1st. Of course, the State may push this date back, depending on our numbers.

If you are planning a small ceremony for June, please consider securing a valid Washington State Marriage License NOW. You are within the 60 day application window, and because Offices are not open to in-person visits, it takes extra time to get your marriage license documents, via on-line and snail mail.

For all of this you will need a valid Washington State Marriage License, 2 witnesses over the age of 18, a location/venue for your ceremony and someone lovely to marry you (hopefully me).

So, how do you get married during Covid 19, if you live in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Snohomish, any part of the Puget Sound or Washington State?

You don’t.

Under the Governor’s order in Washington State, ‘no weddings’ right now.

Yes, the Marriage License offices are issuing marriage licenses and they are recording them. This is what they do.

The best guidance on what is allowed during the State’s shelter-in-place order (from the Governor’s Office and King County Executive’s office) is no weddings.

So, if the two of you desire to get all hitched up, and you live anywhere in Washington State, or want to travel here to do so, what do you do?

You wait until May 4th for updated guidance, when the Governor hopefully lifts the ‘no wedding order.’ My hope is that this ‘no wedding’ restriction will be lifted, allowing a roll-out of small weddings (5 people: Officiant, Couple and 2 Witnesses).

And with this, if you don’t yet have a valid Washington State Marriage License, you can secure one from any County. The offices aren’t open right now, so you have to do everything the old fashioned way.

If you have questions, if I can be helpful. I am here. Once the stay-at-home order is lifted, I am fully available to officiate for you…